Troubled Waters

Troubled Waters

Troubled Waters is a suite of interdisciplinary exhibitions and projects that consider the impact of human activity and climate change on natural and marine environments.

The program includes the Australian premiere of British filmmaker John Akomfrah’s critically acclaimed Vertigo Sea, and Georgia Wallace-Crabbe’s five-screen film installation, The Earth and the Elements.

A large-scale video installation Akomfrah’s Vertigo Sea is a poetic meditation on man’s relationship with the sea explored through the lens of slavery and whaling, refugee and environmental crises.

In a major new collaborative project between UNSW Science and UNSW Art & Design, multimedia artists bring the complex ecosystem of a river to life in the Gallery. This important art/science collaboration titled River Journey, addresses the impact of human activity on Australia’s aquatic environments from the perspective of leading scientific researchers, sound, installation and photo-based artists: Andrew Belletty, Nici Cumpston, Tamara Dean, Bonita Ely, Janet Laurence and scientists from UNSW’s Centre for Ecosystem Science led by Professor Richard Kingsford.

River Journey is presented in association with National Science Week.

Vertigo Sea is presented in partnership with the Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA), Christchurch, New Zealand.

Richard Kingsford will be talking about the grand challenge of managing our water and the impacts of our needs on the spectacular rivers and wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin. He will also show the incredible floods that bring life to our inland rivers on the way to Lake Eyre. Australia is now also committed to developing Northern Australia - but at what cost? In this presentation Professor Kingsford argues we must learn lessons from our history of mistakes.

Become acquainted with the specially commissioned artworks in this collaborative project, River Journey, and the scientific underpinnings of the background research. River Journey Gallery Tours will be hosted by Dr Felicity Fenner, Director of UNSW Galleries.

The morning tour will have her speaking with Australian filmmaker, Dr Georgia Wallace-Crabbe, and Indigenous artist, Nici Cumpston. The afternoon tour will have Fenner in discussion with cinematic sound artist, Andrew Belletty.